Iran Deal: Trump's Promise Fulfilled
On Tuesday, Donald Trump committed a disastrous foreign policy mistake when he announced that he would be pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known commonly as the Iran deal, which was implemented by former President Obama.
The deal’s purpose was to stop Iran from developing their nuclear technology by limiting the amount of Plutonium and Uranium, two elements used to make atomic bombs, that Iran can possess. Additionally, the deal stipulated that Iran would be forced to comply with inspections administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that they adhere to the agreement.
Though Obama received significant support for the Iran deal, it was opposed by many due to the fact that it allowed Iran to restart their nuclear program 15 years after the signing of the deal and thus was seen as a purely temporary solution. Nonetheless, numerous reports written by the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran has been complying with the terms of the deal.
But now our President calls the deal “defective at its core” and has failed to recognize that dismantling the deal will strain our relationship with our Western allies, which could lead to severe consequences in the future. Furthermore, Trump has not provided any solution for inhibiting Iran’s nuclear development program, following the all too familiar story of Republicans getting rid of policies before they have a proper replacement. This is just another poorly thought-out decision made on behalf of Trump that is not intended to improve our world but to keep true to his campaign promises.
Even if the Iran deal has been unsuccessful, Trump's decision to scrap it makes no sense if he cannot provide a viable alternative. Iran has just been afforded more than enough time to restart their nuclear program because of Trump’s lack of an alternative. It was a struggle for Obama to pass his deal even after he had presented it. If Trump were to unveil a new plan tomorrow, it would still take a significant amount of time for Congress to review and vote. If Trump had proposed a solution to the problem before he had thrown out the current deal, we would at least have legislation that was well-considered by our government and ready to be passed.
The effects of Trump’s decision stretch beyond the borders of Iran. Their nuclear program instilled fear in European nations and Obama’s deal relieved that stress for many countries. Additionally, the deal improved relationships with our European allies. When French President Emmanuel Macron heard Trump’s announcement that he would be making a decision on the Iran deal, he travelled to the United States to try and talk Trump out of scrapping the agreement. Macron failed in his attempt, which has inherently damaged our relations with France. We cannot make all of our decisions based on pleasing our allies, but they should factor into the equation, especially when Trump has not presented European countries with another solution. With global tensions in Syria and Russia rising, we need our allies to have our back.
Trump has been trying to gain popularity by making himself seem like a better leader than Obama. Obama struggled to meet many of his campaign promises, so Trump is consciously striving to make a lot of noise whenever he achieves something that he promised to his voters, no matter the cost of fulfilling that promise.